Today’s reader submission is an interesting one. Have you ever wondered what happens at a Casino when someone wins that really big grand prize? You may not believe it, but it happens! In fact, it happened to one of our readers, who was kind enough to share his tale with us. Of course, we wouldn’t feature a story like this unless it contained a little something that screams The Reality Register. This one has that in spades…
Jacob Bartholomew
A few years back, I was wasting a Friday night at Foxwoods Resort and Casino at the Pequot reservation in Connecticut, a place my wife and I had frequented before she passed away. It was an old routine at this point, one that I had long grown tired of, but it was a better way to pass the time than sitting at home and watching Walker: Texas Ranger alone again. I’d wander the casino until I found an open machine, sit down and watch the 500 dollars I’d bring to lose slowly tick down to zero.
The evening in question went very much the same way as always, sitting at a machine called Monkey’s Wild and watching digital wheels spin in place as I mindlessly pressed the max bet button. It had been a night of ups and downs, but I had been playing for hours, and still had about a hundred dollars left. I watched the reels spin with half-hearted anticipation, but my luck seemed to be wavering. Just as I was about to call it quits and start the long trek home, fate intervened in the most unexpected way.
As happens from time to time, I hit a bonus round promising fabulous prizes. Excitement surged through me as I spun the reels, eager to see how much longer the current win would buy me for the night. To my amazement, all of the reels stopped at once, displaying a screen filled with monkey heads, all roaring with monkey excitement. An alarm began to blare and flashing light danced around my machine. Suddenly, a crowd began to gather around me, their eyes wide with curiosity and envy. I had won, and it was the grand prize for the machine.
As the casino staff swiftly verified my win, a sense of disbelief washed over me. Could it be true? Had I actually won the grand prize? My mind raced with possibilities as I awaited further instructions from the casino staff. A corvette maybe, or was I thinking too small? A Lamborghini perhaps, or maybe millions of dollars in cold hard cash!
Before long, a distinguished figure in a tuxedo appeared, microphone in hand, ready to make the grand announcement. With a flourish, he proclaimed over the loudspeaker that the Monkey’s Wild jackpot had been won for the first time in casino history, and the grand prize was on its way.
The casino representive asked me my name and home town, which I eagerly shouted into the microphone. Never had I experienced such excitement. In my wildest dreams, never did I imagine myself in this position, basking in the spotlight of a casino floor.
As the prize crew approached, carrying a sheet-covered object, my heart raced with anticipation. What could possibly await me under that veil of mystery? I sat with bated breath as the crew beckoned me over to the sheet to unveil my glorious riches. I pulled off the sheet and gasped.
I sat speechless, as before me was a creature I’d never seen before. A monkey with wings perched on a little wooden swing in the small birdcage. The crowd oohed and awed as the man from the Casino began to explain the strange animal that was my grand prize.
The creature was apparently a batmonkey, a rare and exotic animal native to India. The casino representative explained that as an Indian casino, they had access to dealers in rare Indian animals, and had acquired the batmonkey when the game was first introduced 15 years prior.
Confusion grasped me as I tried to comprehend the magnitude of my prize. What was I supposed to do with a batmonkey? As I accepted the cage, it dawned on me exactly how great this prize really was.
This batmonkey was alone in a cage, just as I had become since my wife’s death. He spent his days sitting on his swing waiting for a friend, just as I spent every Friday at a machine that slowly drained me of my money, wishing I had a friend to share my time with. We were made for each other, true kindred spirits.
I drove home with the cage sitting in the passenger’s seat, excitedly talking to the batmonkey of all of the adventures we’d have. I’d get every bit of food out from my cabinets when we got home so we could figure out what his favorite food was, we’d take walks every day and be the envy of every chump who walked a dog in the park. We’d both been alone for long enough, this was a new beginning, one of friendship and love.
I pulled into the driveway and threw my car into park. I ran around the front of my car to open the passenger’s door for him. As the door opened, the cage fell to the ground, bursting open on impact. The batmonkey shrieked and took to the sky, barely visible in the night’s sky. I watched in horror as it went higher and higher, my excitement quickly transforming into despair. I called to him in desparation, hoping that somehow my voice would resonate with him after such a pleasant car ride, but before I knew it, he was sucked into the engine of a passing jet. He was gone.
Reflecting on the whirlwind of events, I couldn’t help but chuckle at the absurdity of it all. In the end, I may not have walked away with riches, but I certainly had a tale to tell – one that would be retold for years to come. Sometimes, the greatest adventures come when you least expect them – even if they do involve a little monkeying around.
Gordon Souza, age 81
Wow, what a whirlwind of a story Gordon, thank you for sharing that wonderful tale!
If you have a story you would like to submit for publication on our site, please email us at [email protected] and we’ll take a look at it. I do some editing to ensure it’s up to our standards and to make myself feel worthy of a paycheck, but I do not change anything pertinent to the story as a whole. Thanks for reading!
